Just as Annesley slamd the table.
"Ding ding ding..."
The phone on the table rang.
Seeing it was his boss calling, he quickly picked it up.
"I’m Annesley."
"How are things over there?"
The unfriendly tone on the phone made Annesley unavoidably nervous.
"Ling has now completely secured his position, Pan Cong and David, I went to see them again last night, they simply wouldn’t et with , I can confirm that both have completely defected to Ling, and they can’t be used by us anymore."
Annesley reported.
"There’s no more use in winning over those two, we have to change our strategy now. Before, we were against Ling, now we must cultivate a good relationship with him, otherwise, both you and I are going to have trouble."
"What happened? Sothing happened?"
Annesley was startled, his own boss had troubles too?
"Ling has officially expressed his dissatisfaction to the Bai Gong side, specifically about Pan Cong and David. I didn’t expect him to play his cards in such an unconventional way, confronting us directly and putting us in a very passive position."
Annesley’s boss had just furiously slamd the table as well.
So things,
can be done.
As long as no one exposes them, everyone can save face.
But fear runs high when one side punctures that thin veneer, turning conspiracies into open secrets, making everyone uncomfortable. Now, with Ling entering the scene like holding four twos, his move stunned them.
"The matter has alard quite a few people, we are under great pressure, our only option now is to change our previous strategy, even if we can’t align with Ling, he also can’t side with Huaxia."
"This..."
Annesley was at a loss for words.
Without paying a price,
how could they appease Ling.
"I know what you’re thinking, we have our bargaining chips ready, make an appointnt to see him, whatever he cares about most right now, we’ll give it to him, as long as it achieves our goal."
"Money."
The first thing to pop into Annesley’s mind was this.
Sure enough,
just as expected.
"Ling is aggressive, but he’s also principled, possessing all the qualities of a leader. Since he values economic developnt so highly, we can offer a little help."
"You can agree to a low-interest loan below ten billion dollars," said the boss.
"Yes," Annesley said gladly.
At least he wouldn’t be going there empty-handed.
"Of course, we can’t just give the money away for free, I’ll send you a fax later, it will contain the loan’s terms and conditions, try to push for as many as possible in our favor, even if we can’t get full agreent, we must strive for the majority."
"Yes."
Annesley responded promptly.
The United States’ loans
were never easy to obtain, they would certainly co with all sorts of stipulations.
After hanging up the phone,
within half a minute,
Annesley received a file, over twenty pages, dozens of terms.
He quickly morized almost all of it.
Because these things were just dredged up from the archive.
There were hundreds of terms involving various treaty contents in favor of the United States, Annesley was very familiar with them, it was like a standard contract, the content was nothing more than a word-filling ga.
However,
after reviewing the docunt in hand,
Annesley felt the upcoming negotiations were not looking promising.
...
The next day.
In the morning,
Annesley ca to Ling’s office.
He had thought that because of the David’s incident, Ling would leave him hanging for a few days, but to his surprise, just after he requested to see Ling, he was granted an audience in less than an hour, which made Annesley sowhat proud – the United States still had considerable clout.
But then,
the smile froze on his face.
Because
in the reception room, he saw Huaxia’s Sun Jiang and ng Fan, Sun Jiang, the Huaxia official stationed in Myanmar, ng Fan, Sun Jiang’s assistant, both of whom could be called ’old friends’.
"Mr. Sun Jiang, you’re here too?" Annesley squeezed out a smile on his face.
Sun Jiang chuckled.
"Mr. Annesley, I just arrived early, please." He had no interest in engaging in pleasantries with Annesley.
"Fine."
Annesley agreed in response.
Led by soldiers, he went to Ling’s office.
"What’s he here for?" ng Fan sneered.
"He’s just making rounds," Sun Jiang said with a smile.
The United States had bet on the wrong person several tis, while Huaxia had stayed inactive, just watching how things unfolded. Eventually, everything Annesley had done before perfectly illustrated the point: the more you do, the more mistakes you make.
This ti.
He was probably here for ’damage control’.
Sun Jiang couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. After such a long hassle, they hadn’t gained anything of substance.
Ling’s office.
Annesley conveyed the goodwill of the United States with warmth, expressing the desire to establish deeper connections and, by the way, also offered his congratulations to Ling. In the end, he praised so of Ling’s achievents.
In any case.
The formalities were thus completed.
"Speak, what do you want with ?" Ling waited silently until he finished before speaking up.
Seeing Ling’s expression unchanged,
Annesley got straight to the point.
"We know your country is in urgent need of funds for economic developnt. For this purpose, the United States can provide developntal aid through loans, and in the future, you will be an ally of the United States."
"How much?" Ling asked.
Annesley held up one finger.
Confidently, he said, "Up to ten billion US dollars." He’d thought Ling would show at least a hint of surprise, but Ling didn’t even raise an eyebrow, as if what had been offered was a re ten thousand.
He was indeed talking about ten billion US dollars!
It was sothing Myanmar was desperately in need of.
"It’s fine," Ling said indifferently.
It’s fine?
Annesley was frustrated.
Ten billion US dollars, and all it elicited were these two words?
Alright then, he shouldn’t have held any hopes. Who was Ling? The person with the highest status in this country, and also the wealthiest. Ten billion US dollars, Lang Cai might have been overly excited.
But Ling... How to continue the negotiations?
This was troubling.
The last thing you want in a negotiation is this attitude.
Annesley gritted his teeth and said, "We’re willing to lend, however, there are so conditions that would benefit both of our interests."
"Conditions?" Ling’s face grew cold.
Annesley hurriedly said, "It’s standard practice."
"What conditions?"
Ling’s fountain pen tapped on the table.
Annesley, well-versed in psychology, knew this was pressure being applied. He took a deep breath, quickly took out a draft contract from his bag, and handed it to Ling.
Ling pretended to look it over.
There were many details.
The United States wanted to fully develop the financial sector here, allowing foreign capital to establish banks, carry out financial services, relax exchange rate controls, reduce, or exempt tariffs on Arican goods.
Additionally, they wanted to open up ports, highways, electricity, transit sectors for private capital investnt, and the majority of these funds had to purchase Arican services and products; not just any random buying.
Five minutes later.
"It seems this money of yours is quite hot to handle," Ling said, pushing the draft contract back with a light laugh.
"If there’s anything you’re unsatisfied with, we can discuss it," Annesley said hastily.
"Unsatisfied? Heh, I’m not satisfied with any of it. We may be short on funds for developnt, but we are not lacking the courage to oppose an unfair treaty. I am sorry, but I cannot accept such conditions."
"..."
Annesley thought he hadn’t been clear. If there were dissatisfaction, they could discuss it. Why did Ling seem to flare up all of a sudden?
"If you’re not satisfied with the conditions, we can talk," he repeated.
Ling waved his hand, "Mr. Annesley, there’s nothing here to discuss. The only thing I can agree to is to do business fairly, on terms that do not violate our interests."
"And moreover, among these conditions, there are so that involve Huaxia. I have carefully reviewed them and am shock. I can only say, before you deal with these matters, could you possibly hold a eting to discuss it?"
"Reduce trade exchanges with Huaxia? Are your Arican people coming over to build our railways, highways, hydropower stations, and buildings? Are you shipping cheap railway tracks over?..."
"...All of these are obligations, obligations, obligations. Have you considered the impact these will have on our economy? Are we to bear the consequences for this bit of money, and you stand by and watch the drama unfold?"
"If that’s the case, what’s the difference between your ten billion US dollars and poison?"
Ling’s words.
Left Annesley stunned.
Labeling the coveted US dollars as ’poison’, was this... a sign the discussion had broken down?
And also.
What’s with this strong resentnt?
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